Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

Foreign ministers back banking data deal

EU foreign ministers today approved a negotiating mandate for the Swedish government to begin talks on transferring information on European citizens’ banking transactions to authorities in the US.

The deal will allow the US to continue getting access to data held by SWIFT, a financial network owned by banks, even after SWIFT moves a processing centre out of the US, from Virginia to Switzerland.

EU officials insist that proper data protection safeguards will apply and that continued surveillance of the data is vital. “It would be extremely dangerous at this stage to stop the surveillance and the monitoring of information flows,” said Jacques Barrot, the European commissioner for justice, freedom and security.

But some MEPs complained that the safeguards do not go far enough. “The planned agreement offers no data protection safeguards; it neither imposes the condition of a judicial decision nor makes legal provision against abusive use of the data by US authorities,” said Green group co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit in a joint statement.

They are also criticical that the deal is being struck just months before the Lisbon treaty might come into effect, bringing with it a greater say for the European Parliament on such matters.

“This is a conscious move to bypass the European Parliament, which has a strong track record in defending fundamental rights and data protection,” added the statement. Barrot said the deal was a temporary one and that the Parliament’s full input would be allowed during subsequent talks.

The data transfers began after the US authorities subpoenaed SWIFT to allow it access to financial transactions in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. When the practice came to light in 2006, the EU’s 27 data protection authorities declared the transfers illegal. SWIFT agreed to make changes to its operations to meet data protection concerns, including moving its processing centre from the US to Europe.